Advanced Television

4G

ICASA opens spectrum auction

South Africa’s ICASA telecommunications regulator has started its long-planned spectrum auction. The opening moves (the ‘opt-in’ process) started on March 8th with six players involved: Telkom, Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Rain. The second round opens on March 10. Bidders have to attend the ICASA offices in Pretoria in person and at […]

March 9, 2022By Chris Forrester

Intelsat to deliver 3G and 4G to Mali

Intelsat, the integrated satellite and terrestrial network operator, has been selected by Orange Mali SA to bring 3G and 4G connectivity to hard-to-reach areas in Mali, the eighth largest country in Africa. The agreement marks a first in Francophone West Africa – the successful deployment of 4G networks over satellite, judged to be the optimal […]

March 3, 2022

South Africa DSO on March 31

South Africa has confirmed that its analogue television transmissions will end on March 31st. The process is more than 10 years behind the initial plan which was to see 80 per cent of the nation converted to digital in time for the FIFA World Cup which started in June 2010 The ending of analogue broadcasting […]

March 2, 2022By Chris Forrester

Nokia, Kyndryl network partnership

Kyndryl, an IBM spin-off, and Nokia have announced a global network and edge computing alliance aimed at helping enterprise customers accelerate their digital transformations with secure LTE and 5G private wireless networking. The partnership builds on a successful private wireless connectivity project that yielded an innovative solution combining Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) application platform […]

February 17, 2022

Gilat Q4 revenues up 58%

Israel-based speciality satellite services company Gilat reported revenues up 58 per cent for its Q4 2021 to $67.3 million (from $42.6 million for the same period in 2020). The quarter help propel Gilat to revenues for the full year to $218.9 million, up 32 per cent y-o-y. Guidance for 2022 is for revenues of between […]

February 17, 2022By Chris Forrester

BT, BAI high-speed Wi-Fi for London Underground

BT has announced the signing of a multi-million pound contract with BAI Communications (BAI), to deliver a core part of the company’s data centre requirements as it works with Transport for London (TfL) to enable high-speed mobile and Wi-Fi coverage on the London Underground. BAI has been awarded a 20-year concession with TfL to deliver […]

January 28, 2022

Vodafone to retire UK 3G network from 2023

Vodafone is to begin retiring its UK 3G network in 2023 as part of a network modernisation programme to improve 4G and 5G experience for all customers. The programme, which will see 3G coverage gradually phased out and replaced by strengthened 4G and 5G services, will mean customers across more parts of the UK can […]

January 25, 2022

Report: Decline in turnover of FSS operators

Dataxis has published its latest report on the Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) civil communications market. After years of significant growth, the decline in traditional video activity in the most developed countries is being sustained, resulting in a limited but steady decline in the turnover of FSS operators. The outlook for the future is equally becoming […]

December 15, 2021

South Africa issues 4G/5G spectrum

South Africa’s regulator, ICASA, has issued a fresh set of licences for 4G and 5G broadband expansion. The move was expected and comes ahead of a new auction of spectrum scheduled for Q1/2022. The issue of this temporary spectrum was made in response to legal threats from the cellular industry which is hard pressed to […]

December 13, 2021By Chris Forrester

Astranis targets Peru with broadband-by-satellite

Astranis Space Technologies, a private American geostationary communications satellite operator and manufacturer headquartered in San Francisco, is proposing to work with Andesat to see satellite services brought to Peru. “This first satellite, which will go into service in 2023, will light up about 1,000 cell sites and provide broadband internet to approximately three million people […]

December 8, 2021By Chris Forrester